Hi Dr O. My 22 yr old gelding with Cushings has been on a very small amount of Purena Equine Senior Feed. I was advised three yrs ago to limit his grain to only enough to mix in his supplements. He has always been a very easy keeper yet this past winter he has lost a lot of weight and his appetite diminished. He gets clean timothy/grass hay and absolutely no grass. When he first foundered three yrs ago he had been on his normal grass when suddenly he foundered. My vet at that time only treated the founder and looked no further even though nothing in his diet had changed. Then the following yr-two yrs ago, we had just moved and had my gelding in a no grass paddock, as we had kept him in one since his first founder. He suddenly foundered again and my same vet refused to listen to me and do blood tests or consider any possibility of Cushings. I immediately switched back to my original vet from yrs ago who ran blood tests and put him on Pergolide and as far as I am concerned, saved his life. He ended up having abscesses on BOTH his front feet and was in agony for three months, as were we trying to keep up all our spirits and soak and wrap and medicate. Thankfully he pulled through. During this winter we put him on Probios as my vet said it could increase his appetite and also Cimetidine as he suspected a possible ulcer since he has been on constant low doses of bute for a severe bone spur in front pastern. This seemed to help his appetite, yet he still continued to lose weight. He is on Strongid C2x daily wormer and is wormed at least 2 times yearly with paste wormer. So, last week my vet was out for spring shots and suggested I try Nutrina Safe Choice feed. He said it is excellent for Cushings/foundered horses-that it has more fat and more complex carbs and that I can gradually get his amount of feed up from 1/4 of a lb coffee can to two full cans-daily. I am excited about this possibility yet am a bit concerned about that much grain. I have also cut way down on carrots. Does this sound okay to you and has anyone had experience with Nutrina Safe Choice. Thanks for any info you can give me. Bunny

Bunny can you list the ingredients and their percent of the total makeup of the Safe Choice feed? Also important is for us to know how much he weighs, how much hay he gets, and the dosage of the pergolide. DrO

HiBunny, Just my 2 cents. But Levi has been on Safe Choice for 3 months, He has grown more sole, and it has helped his feet. I think. . . It could be a combination of lots of things but, it is what is being suggested for Cushing horses in our area. Unfortunately, levi is a pig not a horse, so his weight is great! good luck Suz

Though the number 2 ingredient (feed hominy) is hulled corn it can't be a large portion of the feed because the protein and fiber are much greater than the corn alone. Usually we try to avoid molasses in feeds for horses that may be insulin resistant but again it is the amount that is important. I like to see a high protein, high fat diet for these horses so this might work for you though more protein might be considered since you feed timothy. Once you get your horses calculated protein up to about 3 lbs a day (take the weight of the feeds fed daily and multiply by the estimated protein content and add the weights together) you can start adding more fat in the form of vegetable oils to the diet till you get him to a moderately thin condition which is where he should stay. You should also check fecals as persistent use of daily Strongid results in parasite resistance.

Lastly I don't see where this change is likely to address the founder so you should consider increasing the pergolide about 0.25 mg every 3 weeks until you see the founder resolve. DrO

Dr. Oglesby, I've recently been assigned "Barn Manager" for a small broodmare operation. In the early assessment of the mares I've had to address the issue of founder...finding that one of the mares had the early onset of founder, and is displaying at least two signs of being Cushionoid (long curly hair coat, depression, weight loss). She was treated by a completely reliable vet, and farrier. She had minimal rotation and has abscessed in all four feet. She was on pasture up to 4 hours a day, and feed grass hay. Upon further discovery, she foundered last spring as well with a lot of rotation. She is now being treated for the abscesses and founder with 1gm Bute 1/day (with dramatically decreased pain, Thank God), a product called Remission, and vet recommended Thyrol L. She is off pasture and in a stall (with a cushy shavings bed to lay in), and dry run. She is being fed about 10 lbs. of good quality grass hay 2x/day, and has been wormed with Ivermectin Dec. 14th. (and yes, she had a worm load). She is an 15.2 hand, 20+year old Arabian that currently is about 900-950lbs., showing ribs, and a pot belly. My question is...the vet recommended that she get grass hay ONLY. He specifically suggested no alfalfa for this mare. I'd like to increase her protein and fat levels try to help her gain more weight and energy. I am thinking on the track of introducing beet pulp and rice bran into her diet. Can you suggest a high protein extremely safe feedstuff? And...there was no mention of administering Pergolide. But he is adamant about the Thyrol L. Any difference? Thanks! Debbie

Hello Debbie, Let me help you get posting right. Rather than placing questions about your horse at the bottom of another member's discussion, you should "Start a New Discussion". There are several advantages to keeping discussions separate:

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more folks are likely to see your post and so you will receive quicker and more responses

You will find the "Start New Discussion" button on the parent page to this discussion along with an Article and list of already present discussions on this areas topic. Getting there is easy, for example in this discussion:

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Before posting you should review the article as you will find helpful information. If it does not answer your question and you don't see a related discussion that answers your question you should "Start a New Discussion" with your question. For more on this and other important information see Help & Information on Using This Site » Welcome to The Horseman's Advisor. Thanks for helping us stay organized. DrO

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